Andrew Hoff
What's Working in M7 Applications
What's Working in M7 Applications
Chicago Booth
Amerasia Consulting
Chicago Booth Ph.D. Program Receives $100 ...

On Monday, May 1, Chicago Booth stated that businessman and philanthropist Ross Stevens, Ph.D. '96, had given the school's Ph.D. program $100 million to help push the boundaries of academic business research.  The program will be called the Stevens Doctoral Program to honor Stevens.

Chicago Booth Ph.D. Program Receives $100 Million
Application Advice, Application Process
Amerasia Consulting
Are You MBA-Ready? Here Are 5 Indicators You Are

People often decide to pursue an MBA without giving it much thought, but that's not a good idea. Before you start getting ready to apply, you should really think about why you want to get the degree and make sure it's the right choice for you. Here are five indicators that can help you decide if you're ready to apply to business school or not.

Are You MBA-Ready? Here Are 5 Indicators You Are
B-school Life, Key Thoughts, Leadership
Amerasia Consulting
How to Prepare for Important Career Moments

Have you ever woken up from a recurring nightmare in which you had to take an exam for which you hadn't studied? No one likes the feeling of not being prepared. And this worry takes over many parts of our professional lives. No one wants to be caught off guard in front of an MBA admissions committee, a current client or boss, or even a networking event. The answer is to be confident in all of these conversations and presentations. How? Preparedness. In this blog post, we'll talk about what you should do to get ready for a variety of common career scenarios.

How to Prepare for Important Career Moments
Key Thoughts, Leadership
Amerasia Consulting
5 Ways To Becoming an Effective Manager

Becoming a great manager is essential for becoming a great leader. Good managers not only extract great output from their employees, but they also relieve the executive team of most of the day-to-day operations, allowing them to focus on more tactical challenges. Leaders develop a vision, while managers develop goals and guide their teams toward shared goals connected to that vision. This blog post will go over five strategies to becoming a successful manager.

5 Ways To Becoming an Effective Manager

Early Decision vs Regular Decision

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Applying Round 1 vs. Round 2 — Why You Might Want to Wait.

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Applying Round 1 vs. Round 2 — Why You Might Want to Wait.

In the last post, we discussed the virtues of applying in round one, but there are a few reasons why you might want to consider applying in round two instead. Firstly, you should be considering your personal readiness to submit an application no matter what strategy you employ for timing.

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Applying Round 1 vs. Round 2 — The Epic Battle of Choices.

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Applying Round 1 vs. Round 2 — The Epic Battle of Choices.

There is little more debated in the b-school application world than whether it’s better to apply in round one or round two. Most can agree that the third round is the most challenging, but late night discussions have endured and fights started over the topic of whether to submit for the first or second deadline. 

What should I do during the “in between?”

What should I do during the “in between?”

As we bask in the post final round lull of MBA application season, the lovely “between seasons” part of the year, we know it won’t be long before this fall’s applications will be open once again. 

Advice for Applying to MBA Programs in Round 3

Advice for Applying to MBA Programs in Round 3

The common myth surrounding Round 3 of the MBA application process is that you can't, or shouldn't, apply late in the admission cycle.  "The class is pretty much full" is one refrain.  "You have to be a truly unique applicant" is another.  "Only European programs admit people that late" is yet another. As with anything, there are bits of truth in these sound bites ... but only bits.

MBA Applicants: Which Round to Apply

MBA Applicants: Which Round to Apply

As we move through the winter months and host calls with b-school candidates for the upcoming cycle, it's interesting to note that some admissions questions come up a lot more this time of year than they do later.  We are going to try to use that as a cue to address these types of issues and concerns here on the blog - and we are starting with a very common question this far out from the process, which is "what round should I apply in?" 

THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION DEPENDS LARGELY ON THREE FACTORS.

Should I apply Early Action / Early Decision?

Should I apply Early Action / Early Decision?

Deciding when to apply to school can often get applicants mentally twisted, as they attempt to inject strategy into the process.  We will speak more specifically to this decision in another post, but at this time of year, it makes sense to first talk about early action.  More and more schools it seems, have an early action option which throws yet another wrench into the round one vs. round two vs. round three discussion.

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Looking for an MBA Advantage? Consider Round 2

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Looking for an MBA Advantage? Consider Round 2

I've been having this conversation a lot lately with individual clients, so I thought I'd take it out wide.

Basically, the idea is that Round 2 might be offering a slight advantage, based on theories of market inefficiencies and so forth.  For years, I would say the prevailing belief is that Round 1 is the best round in which to apply to business and while there is no hard-core evidence to suggest otherwise, some common sense and deduction may point to a different result.  So let's quickly run this down. 

The Best Time to Apply to Columbia Business School During Regular Decision

The Best Time to Apply to Columbia Business School During Regular Decision

Today's blog post concerns the tricky Columbia Regular Decision deadline, which starts the day after Early Decision (which had a deadline of October 3rd this year) and extends all the way into April. While long, rolling deadlines are commonplace in college admissions or law school admissions, they are strangely out of place in the MBA space, which creates a lot of consternation on the part of applicants everywhere. Here's the weird part though: normally when applicants ring their hands over something ambiguous and unfamiliar we tell them to buck up and have some courage ("Stop worrying so much," is a common refrain around here), but in this case, there actually is some very real strategy to consider. We take into consideration a few rules of thumb, some common sense, and our own experiences sitting in the admissions officer's chair to arrive at a recommendation.